Visayas: A six-hour red alert has been declared for the Visayas grid on Monday, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., due to the continued unavailability of several major coal-fired power plants. In addition to the red alert, the grid is also on yellow alert from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
According to Philippines News Agency, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) reports that the available capacity stands at approximately 2,153 megawatts (MW), whereas the peak demand reaches around 2,462 MW. The unavailability of Units 1 and 2 of the Therma Visayas Inc. and Unit 3 of the Panay Energy Development Corporation are significant contributors to the current power shortage. These facilities are among the 12 power plants that have experienced forced outages this month, significantly reducing the grid's capacity.
Additionally, NGCP has highlighted that 22 power plants have been on forced outage since as far back as 2021, with 13 plants currently operating at derated capacity. This situation has resulted in a total loss of approximately 1,075.2 MW to the grid. A yellow alert is issued when the operating margin is insufficient against contingency requirements, while a red alert indicates that the supply is inadequate to meet demand and regulatory needs.
